Didn’t Lie to Couple Who Hired Her to Bear Child, Surrogate Mother Says

Surrogate mother Anna L. Johnson testified Monday that the infertile couple who hired her to bear their baby should not have trusted her to give up the child, but she denied that she misled or lied to them about her intent to keep the infant.

Under four hours of intense questioning, Johnson repeatedly fended off accusations from the baby’s lawyer that she is a liar, and insisted she had the right to change her mind and keep the child she agreed to bear for Mark and Crispina Calvert for $10,000.

Johnson, 29, wrote a July 23 letter to the Calverts, demanding they pay her the remaining $5,000 or they would “not get the baby.”

Questioned by the Calverts’ lawyer, Christian R. Van Deusen, Johnson testified Monday that even if the couple had paid the money by her deadline, she still would not have agreed to give up the child.

But Johnson denied Van Deusen’s suggestion that she was lying by implicitly promising to surrender the child if the payment was made. She said she simply “changed my mind.”

“Are you saying the Calverts should have been more circumspect about believing what they heard coming from you?” Van Deusen asked.

“I guess,” Johnson answered.

“Weren’t you deceiving the Calverts into believing that if they complied with the letter you’d turn over the child?” Van Deusen asked.

“If they so chose to believe,” Johnson said.

The proceeding in Orange County Superior Court marks the first time a surrogate mother has sought legal parental status even though she is not genetically related to the child she bore. The Calverts have temporary custody of the baby.